Legislator denies visiting Spain to watch football

A legislator from House of Representatives Commission X has denied allegations that commission members traveled to Spain to attend a Champions League match between Madrid and Barcelona during a comparative study to the country.

Legislator Raihan Iskandar said the legislators, who oversaw sports, went to the Santiago Bernabeu and Nou Camp Stadiums to meet stadium officials so they could learn more about developing soccer.

“The match tickets were expensive. If I'm not mistaken, they cost Rp 10 million each. Our agenda was to meet the officials,” he said, adding that it was not possible to get tickets in an instant.

Raihan said it was important for legislators to study the development of soccer in Spain so they could make improvements to the Indonesian Soccer Association.

“What Indonesia should do is fix to the infrastructure at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. When I went to Real Madrid stadium, there was a museum documenting Spain's football history since the 1900s,” Raihan said Friday, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

He added that Spain not only had advanced soccer facilities, but also Formula 1 racing.

“They make use of the sporting world by having the best soccer and Formula 1 [facilities],” he said.